Giving to WIS
All members of the school community are beneficiaries of the past and guardians of the future. Donations from individuals are very important to the success of WIS and its students. Tuition fees do not cover all the costs of providing a first-class and unique educational program, so, like all independent schools, Washington International School relies on annual gift income to cover approximately three percent of the operating budget. In addition, the school relies on capital and major gifts to ensure future growth. The responsibility for maintaining and enhancing the school's excellence rests squarely in the hands of the members of its community.
WIS Annual Fund
At WIS we manage our resources wisely to offer a top quality IB curriculum, and to maintain a community with international and socioeconomic diversity. The school’s daily operations as well as its growth depend on financial donations and on volunteer time. Your yearly donation to the Annual Fund helps underwrite the school’s excellent academic program and global mission. We count on you to support our success. Contributions to the Annual Fund can be made at any time and in any amount. Your donation directly benefits every student on a daily basis through support of instructional expenses, faculty compensation, educational resources, and the financial aid program.
Learn more about the 2006-07 Annual Fund
Capital Campaigns, Major Gifts, and Endowments
Periodically the board of trustees and the head of school identify building projects or other needs that require large sums of money to implement. Unlike annual funds, which raise money for annual operating expenses, capital campaigns raise funds in a defined period of time for specific uses, such as building improvements and endowments for implementation of programs. Capital campaigns help the school grow and to plan for the future. At WIS the science laboratories, the Arts and Athletics Center, and the Primary School were funded in part by capital gifts. These gifts are in addition to annual contributions
In 2004 WIS launched the Gateway to an International World campaign to raise funds for facilities improvements on the Primary School and Tregaron Campuses and to help grow the school’s endowment. Phase I of the Gateway Campaign closes on December 31, 2006. With less than $250,000 needed to meet the $4.2 million goal, this is your opportunity to support and enhance the excellent international education that WIS offers.
Endowment gifts perpetuate the donors’ intent into the future, as their principal remains untouched—except to grow—and only the annual interest is applied to the donors’ designated intent. At WIS, endowment funds exist for two main purposes: to support students and to support faculty. Named endowments help to honor and/or memorialize individuals dear to donors, and recognize organizations for their contributions to WIS.
Read about the Gateway to an International World campaign
The Cathya Wing Stephenson Planned Giving Society
The term "planned giving" refers to major gifts made to the school through various financial instruments. A planned gift can be as simple as remembering WIS in your will. There are also trusts, gifts of life insurance, retirement plan assets, and gifts of property. Each method has specific advantages that are tailored to the donor's needs. For example, a donor might structure a gift that would provide life income, avoid capital gains tax, and pass assets to family members substantially free of taxes.
More on Planned Giving
Download the brochure
Donor Profiles
People who give to WIS come from a wide range of backgrounds, from corporate donors to WIS families to friends of the school. But they share at least one common trait: a lifelong commitment to international education and global citizenship.
